Winter Chills
by Aiko Yamarashi
Summary: Snow isn't the only thing falling outside. "Then, the sound got louder as it passed her window, along with a quick shadow, and softened again with a thud outside."


Title: Winter Chills

Summary: Snow isn't the only thing falling outside. "Then, the sound got louder as it passed her window, along with a quick shadow, and softened again with a thud outside."

Pairing: NaLu

Genre: Romance/Humor

Rating: T

Notes: Just a little something to celebrate the holidays! Inspired by a Christmas AU prompt on Tumblr. Happy holidays everyone!

* * *

The snow had been piling up outside for hours, and Lucy sat at the desk by her window, sipping hot chocolate and occasionally looking up from her writing to watch the snowflakes. Christmas was coming soon, and Lucy _had_ to write out the idea she had for a holiday story.

 _The two looked up and saw the mistletoe hanging between them, blush furiously lighting their faces…_

"Ugh, that's so cliché!" Lucy groaned, balling up the piece of paper in front of her and shooting it at her wastebasket, only to watch it hit the rim and bounce off. She glared at it, her eye beginning to twitch.

How was she supposed to write a romantic story when everything holiday related seemed so overdone? She could just write a nice family story, but that's not what she wanted.

"Maybe there are no more good holiday stories out there," she sighed, casting a glance at the window again, watching the white scenery outside.

There seemed to be a buzzing sound coming from outside. Lucy looked around curiously, wondering where it was coming from. Then, the sound got louder as it passed her window, along with a quick shadow, and softened again with a thud outside.

"What the hell?" Lucy shouted, springing from her chair and rushing to her window, sticking her head outside into the cold. When she wasn't satisfied with the view, she climbed out to the fire escape and searched for what fell. That's when she found a mess of pink hair mixed in the snow. "Natsu?!"

When there was no response, Lucy quickly retreated back into her apartment and slipped on a pair of boots and a coat, rushing outside. She stumbled through the snow to his side, rolling him over to see his face. She pulled him up into a halfway sitting position, holding him close to her.

"Natsu, are you okay?!"

"Oh, hey Lucy," he groaned. "You're pretty loud."

Lucy glanced up at his apartment two floors above hers. There was a tangled mess of red, white, and green lights wrapped around the part of the fire escape outside of his window.

"Why the hell were you hanging Christmas lights on the fire escape?!" she exclaimed, shaking him.

"I was trying to be festive," he explained, flashing a toothy grin.

Lucy sighed. "You're something else."

Natsu groaned again and turned his head…directly into Lucy's chest. "So warm."

She dropped him back into the snow immediately and sprang up. "You're fine."

He choked a little bit of snow out and slowly stumbled to his feet, stretching out his sore muscles. He was clad in his usual vest, white, puffy pants, and sandals.

"Do you never get cold?" Lucy asked, taking in his appearance.

"Not really," he shrugged, slinging an arm around his shoulders and dragging her back to the stairs to walk up to their apartments. He had a little bit of a limp when he walked.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, wrapping her arm around his waist to take on some of his weight. "You're limping."

"I think I hit my leg on a rock or something," he laughed sheepishly. "No big deal."

Lucy rolled her eyes, dragging him to her door. "Come on, I'll patch you up."

"Lucy, it's really no big deal." But, he didn't put up much of a fight.

She struggled to open her door, which she forgot to lock when she went to rescue the pinkette, and stumbled across her apartment, throwing the boy over her shoulder onto her couch.

"You really don't have to do all of this!" Natsu called, watching the blonde shuck off her boots and jacket and disappear into her bathroom.

She reappeared with a large first aid kit and kneeled in front of him, popping the case open. "You're limping, Natsu. Clearly, I do."

"All this for trying to be festive," he grumbled. "Where'd you get that huge thing anyway?"

"Wendy gave it to me for my birthday," she answered, only half paying attention as she took in her inventory. "Roll your pant legs up so I can see what the damage is."

Natsu rolled his eyes, obeying her instructions only to reveal a large, bleeding gash extending down the length of his right shin.

"Natsu!" she exclaimed, jumping slightly at the sight of his injury. "Are you sure this is the only thing that hurts?"

"This is only a flesh wound!" he told her, beaming. "But I'm pretty sure this is it. I popped my shoulder back into socket when I got up."

Lucy slapped her forehead. This boy took falling off the fourth floor fire escape way too lightly. Holding her breath, she wiped up the blood with a wet towel and then followed after it with an alcohol wipe. He winced.

"You wince at _this_ but not your actual injury?"

"Your hands are cold."

Lucy stared at her hands, watching as one caressed his calf while the other gently wiped along the length of his cut. Blush heated her cheeks.

She wiped medicine along his wound and then finished it off by wrapping a bandage along his leg.

"All finished!" she told him, packing up her kit and returning it to its rightful place in the bathroom cabinet.

"Man, I got blood all over my pants again," she heard him complain for the living room.

"Don't worry; I have some stain stick you can borrow." She stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of him. "WHY ARE YOU IN YOUR BOXERS?"

Sure enough, Natsu was standing in front of her examining his pants, his legs only clothed with black boxers with flames on them. "I told you I got blood on my pants."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN STRIP IN MY LIVING ROOM!"

"We see Gray do it all of the time; why are you freaking out?"

"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM?"

"I'm still wearing clothes," he laughed, chucking his pants at her, which she caught reflexively. "Can you put some of that stain stuff on them?"

"I meant I was going to let you borrow it," Lucy sighed, clenching his pants tighter in her hands. She stomped off to her room to find the stain stick.

Lucy struggled to reach the object on the high shelf in her room. Right when she was about to grab it, she felt something warm press against her back as an arm reached past her and knocked it into her hands.

Whirling around, she found Natsu right in front of her, flashing a grin. "Teamwork."

Lucy screeched and dropped everything she was holding, whirling back around and covering her face with her hands. "YOU CAN'T SNEAK UP BEHIND ME IN YOUR BOXERS."

"Fine," she heard him groan and shuffle away from her.

Avoiding eye contact, Lucy scrambled to pick up the things she dropped. She laid his pants out on her bed, spreading the stain-lifting mixture on the leg of Natsu's pants. When she heard a rustling to her left, she slowly turned her head, afraid of what Natsu had gotten himself into.

Her dresser. He found his way into her dresser.

"NATSU!"

"YOU SEEM TO NOT LIKE ME IN MY BOXERS! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, WOMAN?!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN WEAR MY PAJAMA PANTS!"

In the second drawer of Lucy's dresser, Natsu found a pair of fluffy pink pajama pants decorated with multicolored hearts and decided to slip them on. "I'm surprised they fit me!"

"Take them off!" Lucy hissed, throwing his pants at him.

"Well, I can't wear mine! They have stuff all over them!"

"Natsu!"

"I thought you didn't want me to strip?"

Lucy was blushing furiously, refusing to meet Natsu's eyes. This was _so embarrassing_.

Natsu sighed. "I'll go back up to my place and give them back to you when I find some new ones. Want to come make sure I don't fall again?"

She didn't say anything, just nodded.

XxX

Lucy sat cross-legged on Natsu's bed holding the pants he stole from her in her lap. She watched Natsu wrap the last strand of lights around the fire escape through the open window.

"Finished!" he cheered, stepping back to take in the sight of his work. "Look good, Lucy?"

"Looks great!" she told him, scooting back a little so he could climb back through the window.

He sat across from her on his bed. "Thanks for all your help! You're always there for me!"

"We make a great team," she told him, flashing a smile. "You fell past my window; I _had_ to come save you."

He laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Want me to walk you back to your place?"

"It's only two floors below yours. I can just take the fire escape to my window."

"I fell _off_ of the fire escape, remember?"

Lucy sighed. "Fine."

She crouched through the window out into the cold to the metal structure aligning the side of the building. Natsu was quick to follow.

"Watch your step," Natsu hot breath hit her ear as he held onto her shoulders while she walked down the metal stairs to her window. Lucy's throat became suddenly dry.

Her nervous fingers fumbled to open her window. Natsu's warm form once again stood behind her as he reached past her, helping her lift it open.

"T-Thanks," she stuttered, sliding inside of her apartment.

"Night, Lucy!" he said, flashing another cheesy smile.

"Goodnight, Natsu!" she told him, her heartrate beginning to stabilize again.

That is, until her leaned in slightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Her hand immediately covered it once he moved away. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "It just felt like the thing to do." He wouldn't meet her eyes.

An awkward silence fell between both of them, before they both stuttered, "W-Well, goodnight!" Natsu scrambled back up the metal stairs outside, and Lucy shut her window, falling back against the cool glass.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself again until an idea hit her. Running over to her desk, she threw herself into her desk chair and furiously scribbled. She suddenly had a great idea for a holiday short story.


End file.
